Separable button



` Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

1. A. AND 1. G. DORAN. SEPARABLE BUTTON. APPLICATION FILED 0CT.13, 1919.

IIIt

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. DORAN AND JOSEPH Gr. DURAN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SEPARABLE iU'rrcN.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

- Application filed October 13, 1919. Serial No. 330,242.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, JAMES A. DORAN and Josnrn Gr. DORAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Separable Buttons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates primarily to that type of Vseparable buttons which are used for fastening together soft or French cuffs and quite commonly called link cuff' buttons, wherein the button parts or members remain in the button-holes when said parts are separated in order to open or unfasten the cuffs.

The objects of the invention are to strengthen the construction, conceal one of the connecting flangesvand thereby improve the appearance as well as to stiffen the lconnection, in fact eliminate undesirable flexi-` bility, and generally to better the structural and operative details and the finish of th article.

The invention consists of a separable socalled link cuff button, the bodies of the socket and head members of which are made with integral posts or shanks` and these posts orshanks provided with end flanges or shoes of such construction that one of them may be concealed within the other when the parts of the button are connected or snapped together, so vthatinstead of both flanges being exposed when the parts are so connected, only one flange is exposed, as we will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat-A ing the invention, in the several gures of' which like parts are similarly designated, Figure l is ahalf section and elevation of the snapped-together parts. Fig. 2 is a section of the socket member *andV Fig. 3 is a section of the head Vmember separated. Fig. 4 -is a section of the blank from which the head member of the button is formed. F ig. 5 is a section showing a modification of the means for securing ,the ornamental face to either member ofthe button. Fig. 6 is a section showing a modification of the socket member. Fig. 7 is a section showing another .modiflcation of the socket member. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the blank for the Ybody of the socket member, and Fig.

'9 is a perspective view of this element having its split post spread to form the flange or shoe. Fig. l0 is a plan view of one form of socket spring, and Fig. ll is a plan vienr of another form of socket spring.

As already indicated, separable buttons for use on soft or French cuffs are well known. In some of them the socket member and the head member have posts or shanks which terminate at their connecting ends in flanges and a swinging or equivalent connecting mediumis interposed whereby the members may be separably. connected so as to join the ends of the cuff. In these buttons as in ours the two adjacent flanges or shoes are necessary or desirable for coperation with the outer heads or flanges to retain the members in the buttonholes when the button is separated but when both are exposed they produce av clumsy and unsightly appearance. In 4our invention we use the two flanges or shoes'but conceal one within the other when in use, and the connection is substantially rigid, so that there can be no swinging movement of the connection itself, and this condition is enhanced by the socketing of one flange within the other, the spring in the socket member tending to draw the head and flange of the head member into such intimate Contact with the socket member as to preclude any swinging movement, as will appear from the following explanation.

The socket member as shown in Figs. l and 2 comprises a cup l made with the rim flange 2, and the post or shank 3 having the flanged end 4:, all of these parts preferably being integral and drawn to shape. The flanged cup is closed in upon any suitable ornamental face piece v5. The flanged post is provided with'a collet 6 having its rim closed over the flanged end et as at 7. A spring 8, such. as shown in Fig. l0 or Fig. ll is Aplaced next to the flanged end and within the closed-in rim of the collet so as to center it, and then the cup-shaped back 9 is applied to the thus assembled parts and its rim 'lO closed in over the collet 6. A hole ll is made in the back so as to expose the gripping portions of the spring V8V for engagement with the head. The flanged Tend of the post, the collet and the back conadapted to be closed in upon an ornament 13', and a post or shank 14 to which is i'igidly secured the flange 15, herein shown as a cup of a size and conformation adapted to receive and conceal the flange of the socket member. r1`he head blank, Fig. 4,- shows the post 14 as made of two diameters so as to provide a shoulder 1G to receive and support the flange 15, and when the said flange is so positioned the smaller portion of the post is upset or collapsed above the flange to form the collar 17, Fig. 3, which engages the flange and binds it rigidly to the shoulder;

'the remainder of the post being shaped to form the spring-engagiiig head 18. In the preferred construction the flange 15 has a countersunk portion 19 to receive the collar '17 and so present a level surface in the bottom of the flange 15 to correspond to and coact with the level face of the flange of the socket member.

The construction of socket and head members of a separable fastener or button thus described provides a rioid and fixed head or connecting medium 18 for the union of the socket and head members in a substantially rigid manner. llhen the socket flange is inserted in the flange of the head member as in Fig. 1, and the head 18 is engaging the spring4 of the socket member, the laterally extending bottoms of both flanges are in inp timate extensive contact with one another so that any undesirable swinging or tilting movement is prevented; and moreover, the flange of the socket member is wholly concealed within the flange of the head member, so that instead of there being two exposed adjacent flanges tending to render the appearance of the button clumsy and inartistic, our button presents a symmetrical and pleasing appearance.

In addition to the advantages alreadypointed out, there is a further advantage in the decrease in cost of material and labor in our construction as compared with others.

As shown in Fig. 5, the outer end of both socket and head members or either of them may be plain disks 20, and a separate flanged ring 21 may be closed down upon the flange or ornament to unite them.

As shown in Fig. 6, the collet of Figs. 1 and 2 may be omitted and instead thereof may be used the inverted cupped washer 22 turned out at right angles to the post so as to form lateral extensions which constitute the flange 4. This construction is adopted because of its adaptability to integrality of construction and consequent strength in the article and economy of its production.

Fig. 10 shows one form of spring that may be used in the socket member, the same being of ring form with its ends 25 turned in in parallel relation to engage the head 18. As shown in Fig. 11', the spring may be made somewhat stiffer by doubling its ends Vas at 26. These and other forms of springs common to snap fasteners and other forms of separable buttons may be used in the construction of the socket member.

It will be understood that'the button is used by passing the flanges or shoes of its respective members through oppositebuttcnholes in the cuff to be fastened or linked, and then the flange of the socket member is inserted in the cup-like flange of the head' member and the head 18 of the head member is then forced into engagement with the spring in the socket member and the parts thus securely united or' connected.- 11s al-Y readyvstated, when the socket member and `the head member of the button are thus sembled, only one connecting flange appears and thus the symmetry of the vbutton is improved; and not only is therevthis 'improvement in appearance, but the connection is more secure since there is no chance for an lobstacle to come in between the flanges of or shanlmwvliich construction likewise gives great strength, prevents breakage, and reduces the cost ofv manufacturing,.while se curing s( the desired rigidity or Y inilexibility. The nesting Vof the intermediate flanges or shoes one within the other insures two flat Contact surfaces pressing together and thereby controlling or preventing sideV play or looseness, in additionvto furnishing Ya finished product of superior appearance-over those buttons in which corresponding parts are both exposed.` u

It will be'under'stood that in the various constructions herein shown and described, the spring is so arranged and supported as to have perfect freedom of vibration without chance of displacement.

The several one-piece parts of the button members may be formed by any usual or approved drawing process.

The invention is not limited to the contourV or configuration of the ornamental ends of the button, nor to the manner of finishingV these ends, nor'to the kind or nature of the iio are deemed to be within the principle of the invention as herein explained and hereinafter claimed.

What we claim is l. A separable button, having a socket member and a complemental head member, said members having adjacent flanges or shoes, one of which is concealed within the other, and means to separably connect said members consisting of a spring element and a cooperating rigid and inflexible head adapted to engage with said spring element.

2. A separable button, having la socket member and a complemental head member, said members having adjacent flanges or shoes, one of which is concealed within the other, the socket member having a resilient fastening element and the head member having a rigid and inflexible head element coperating with said resilient element to separably connect the socket and head members.

3. A separable button7 having socket and head members each composed of a cupped end and post made of one piece, and flanges on the ends of the respective posts adapted to fit one within the other, and complemental engaging means carried in said flanges to effect a separable connection of the socket and head members independently of the flanges.

4. In a separable button, a socket member having a flanged cup and a post projecting therefrom and terminating in a laterally extending flange, said cap, post and flange formed in one integral piece, a spring applied to the post and resting upon its flange, and a back closed in over the spring and the laterally extending flange.

5. In a separable button, a socket member having a flanged cup and a post projecting therefrom and terminating in a laterally extending flange, a spring applied to the post, a collet applied to the flange andcircumscribing the spring, and a back closed in over the spring and collet.

6. In a separable button, a head member having a flanged cup and a post formed as a rigid part thereof and projecting therefrom and made in different diameters, the larger diameter having a shoulder, and a cupped flange resting upon said shoulder and rigidly held in place thereon by means of a collar formed on the smaller diameter of the post, said post terminating in a socketengaging head.

7. In a separable button, a head member having a flanged cup and a post rigid therewith and projecting therefrom and made in different diameters, the larger diameter having a shoulder, and a cupped flange having a countersunk portion resting on said shoulder, the smaller diameter of the post being upset Within said countersunk portion to rigidly fix the flange on the post, and said post terminating in a socket engaging head.

8. In a separable button, a head member having a flanged Cup and a post formed as a rigid part thereof and projecting therefrom and made in different diameters, the larger diameter having a shoulder, and a cupped flange resting upon said shoulder and rigidly held in place thereon by means of a fixed collar on the smaller diameter of the post, said post terminating in a socket-engaging head made rigid therewith.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 10th day of October, A. D. 1919.

JAMES A. DORAN. JOSEPH G. DORAN. 

